Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Other Black Spring (Part 6)

The abuse of power by Robert Mugabe and his government has been atrocious and extremely cruel towards his own people. And, for decades, this abusive pattern has always been justified under the rhetoric of domination by the West. While there is a level of paranoia involved, reasons for hostility exist.

Jerrold Post, one of the leading political psychologists in the US, admits that current dictators have reasons to be fearful of Western aggression, and that paranoia alone is not an adequate explanation. Just like US policy towards Cuba, Britain and the EU will have to review its aggressive policy towards Zimbabwe, or face possible escalations of violence in a country facing an economic downward spiral.

Just as we closely observe the events in Cuba and the health of Fidel Castro, we should also focus on events in Zimbabwe and the 83 year-old Mugabe. Britain is currently looking to toughen sanctions on Mugabe's government, and planning a post-Mugabe agenda for next year's troubled elections.

The following months will provide real lessons on how developed nations honestly react to explicit human rights abuses, and their general behavior towards developing nations and dictatorial regimes. No doubt, a possible future scenario for Cuba.